Best Lease-to-Own EV Deals and the ‘1-day lease’

Looking to put a huge holiday ribbon on a new EV? There’s a widespread belief that buying a new car is always much cheaper than leasing it in the long run. However, we’ve found six EV lease deals that shatter that myth, with terms that pass the entire commercial clean vehicle Federal tax credit to the lessee and enable the lessee to eventually own the vehicle for thousands of dollars less than paying cash up front.

As mentioned last month, some folks are using the “1-day lease” to take advantage of these deals by buying out their lease almost immediately. This enables the federal tax credit to be applied without stipulations on foreign made vehicles with foreign made batteries or owner tax bracket considerations. Ask about this at your local dealer.

However, do the math to make sure that an early payoff is cheaper than riding out the full term, especially if the intent is to finance the buyout, as all the lease deals mentioned below except for one have a money factor that translates to an APR that is significantly less than current new car interest rates. Also, in the relatively high inflation environment we are unfortunately enjoying right now, it could be wise to defer the payment of over half the cost of the car to three years from now when the US dollar could be worth a lot less than it’s worth today.

1. 2023 Lexus RZ450e Premium

Cash: $66,689; Lease-to-own: $59,390. Lease-to-own savings: $7299

Lexus currently has a lease offer on the $62,100 RZ450e Premium that’s $499/month for 36 months, $5999 due at signing, and the option to buy for $28,808 at the end of the lease. These compelling terms are a result of a huge $15,000 lease incentive that significantly reduces the capitalized cost of this five-seat SUV with a 220-mile range, zero to sixty time of 4.6 seconds, and 34.9 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats.

During the three-year lease term, tallying up the $5999 plus 35 payments of $499 (the first month is paid for at signing) adds up to $23,464. At an assumed 9% tax rate on the up-front capitalized cost reduction, down, and first payment ($1818) as well as on each subsequent payment ($45/month), the total cost to lease the RZ450e is $26,899.

At the end of the lease term, buying the three-year-old RZ450e will cost $29,808 plus $2683 tax for a total of $32,491. All-in, the lease-to-own cost adds up to just $59,390.

In comparison, paying cash up front at delivery will cost a whole lot more: $62,100 MSRP plus $5,589 tax, less a paltry $1000 rebate, comes out to $66,689. That’s $7,299 more than walking the lease-to-own path! For the nearly 80% of consumers that finance auto purchases, Lexus does have a 2.49% promo rate on a 48-month loan, and with $7318 down the payment comes out to be $1323/month. Which is a lot, but after three years, the payoff is only $15,661. Still, the total cost to own the RZ after three years on the promo rate is $69,596 – that’s $10,200 more than leasing it.

By the way, the .00324 money factor (APR 7.78%) on Lexus’ RZ450e lease offer is relatively lofty compared to the rest of the deals mentioned here, which range from 1.68% to 4.58%. So it may be possible to save even more money by buying out the lease early and refinancing at a lower rate.

We found a number of dealers offering discounts ranging from $2527 to $4327 on the RZ450e. Lexus of Serramonte in California tops the list, followed by Lexus of Silver Spring in Maryland. Look for Lexus RZ450e deals near you.

2. 2023 Toyota bZ4X XLE FWD

Cash: $48,553; Lease-to-own: $41,627. Lease-to-own savings: $6,926

Toyota continues to improve its lease terms on the bZ4X, now down to $349/month for 36 months, $3999 due at signing, and the option to buy for $21,381 at lease end for the base XLE trim in front-wheel-drive configuration that MSRPs at $44,544. Assuming a 9% tax rate and working though the same math used on the Lexus RZ450 lease offer results in a lease-to-own cost of just $41,627.

An all-cash purchase is a much more costly proposition: its $44,544 MSRP plus 9% tax adds up to $48,553, which is almost $7000 over the lease-to-own cost. Toyota has a financing promo that’s a little better than paying cash – a $2500 incentive tied to a 48-month loan at 1.99% – but with $4626 down, monthly payment of $899, and payoff of $10,667 after three years, the lease-to-own method still comes out thousands ahead, by $5710 to be exact.

We found a couple of dealers with a relatively modest discount on this five-passenger SUV capable of covering 252 miles on a full charge, holds 27.7 cubic feet of cargo behind the rear seats, and scoots from zero to sixty in 6.7 seconds. Mossy Toyota and Toyota of North Hollywood in California are listing their front-drive bZ4X inventory at around $1700 below MSRP, which seems to be on par with TrueCar pricing estimates for the rest of the country except for the eastern seaboard states from Virginia northward, where it seems the bZ4X sells for a slight premium. Check for Toyota bZ4x deals in your area.

3. 2023 Subaru Solterra Premium

Cash: $50,380; Lease-to-own: $44,077. Lease-to-own savings: $6,303

Thanks to Subaru’s consistently excellent lease terms, this marks the third time in a row that the Solterra is being featured in our EV Deals write-up. Last month it was highlighted as the only all-wheel-drive EV with an average monthly lease cost under $400 (which is still the case), and now we’re talking about it again because its zero-down, $399/month lease with the option to buy for $25,421 at 36 months calculates to an after-tax lease-to-own total of just $44,077. That’s over six grand less than either paying cash up front or taking advantage of Subaru’s 72-month 0% financing offer, both costing $50,380 after adding a 9% tax on its $46,220 MSRP.

The Solterra is built on the same dedicated modular EV platform as the Lexus RX450e and Toyota bZ4X, with the Solterra and bZ4X appearing to be near-identical twins when compared to the RZ450e’s slightly larger exterior and properly painted front fenders. The Solterra also bears a close resemblance to the bZ4X in interior dimensions and performance, capable of carrying 29 cubic feet of cargo behind its rear seats and hustling from standstill to 60mph in 6.5 seconds  – numbers that are closer to the bZ4X versus the upscale RZ450e.

Where the Solterra truly outshines its platform twin and similar electrics from other marques is its tremendous value due to lease terms that allow the lessee to walk away from the all-wheel-drive SUV after paying a total of just $16,381 over three years, tax included. That’s nearly two grand less than a front-drive bZ4x XLE, and nearly three grand less than a front-drive Nissan Ariya Engage or rear-wheel-drive VW ID.4 Pro.

We spotted Subaru dealers in various regions discounting the Solterra, ranging from $2641 to $5803 off MSRP. Check for Subaru Solterra deals near you.

4. 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB300 4MATIC

Cash: $62,338; Lease-to-own: $58,240. Lease-to-own savings: $4,098

The EQB300 4MATIC is an all-wheel-drive five-seat SUV that carries 22 cubic feet of cargo behind its second-row seats (a third row option is available), goes 232 miles on a charge, and accelerates from standstill to 60mph in seven seconds. Its current 36-month lease offer of $519/month, $5613 at signing, and option to buy for $29,057 at termination tallies up to an after-tax lease-to-own cost of $58,240. That’s $4098 less than an all-cash purchase at its $59,300 MSRP minus a $2,299 “dealer participation” discount that’s built into said lease offer, plus 9% tax. Mercedes-Benz lease offers on other EQB-Class trim levels should result in similar savings over a cash deal since they all share the same 49% residual and have a money factor that’s still on the low side (effective APR of 3.29%, versus 2.28% for the EQB300).

We didn’t find any Mercedes-Benz dealership websites that advertise discounts on new inventory, but a quick check of car shopping websites indicates that average discounts ranging from about $1000 in the Northeast to over $5,000 almost everywhere else can be expected. Check for Mercedes-Benz EQB-Class deals near you.

5. 2023 Volvo C40 Recharge Core

Cash: $59,470; Lease-to-own: $56,671. Lease-to-own savings: $2,799

Now that improved-for-2024 models are already arriving at dealerships, the favorable lease terms on the 2023 C40 Recharge core (MSRP $56,390) will likely disappear sooner than later as inventory continues to dwindle. At $483/month for 36 months, $3933 due at signing, and lease-end buyout of $30,543 based on a residual of 54%, lease-to-own costs $2799 less than paying cash up front for this five-passenger, all-wheel-drive SUV that rockets from zero to sixty in 4.2 seconds, travels 226 on a full charge, and carries 15 cubic feet of cargo with all seats in place. Costco members can save even more by taking advantage of the current member-only $1000 incentive on the purchase or lease of a new Volvo.

We found a number of Volvo retailers with discounts or improved lease offers on the C40 Recharge. Look for a dealer with an in-stock 2023 Volvo C40 Recharge near you.

6. 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron Premier

Cash: $80,058; Lease-to-own: $77,809. Lease-to-own savings: $2,249

Looking for a luxury-branded all-wheel-drive five-passenger electric SUV that can squeeze close to 300 miles out of a full charge? The Audi Q8 e-tron comes close at 285 miles, which is at least 50 miles farther than the other luxury-branded vehicles mentioned so far in this article. But that longer security blanket comes at a cost, as the total outlay to own the Audi at lease termination is over $18,000 more expensive than the Lexus RZ450e, Mercedes-Benz EQB300 4MATIC, or Volvo C40 Recharge. To be fair, the Q8 e-tron is larger – built to punch in a heavier weight class that includes the Mercedes EQE, BMW iX, and Tesla Model X – so its higher price (MSRP $78,035) should be expected.

Audi’s current lease offer of $599/month for 36 months, $6493 due at signing, and the option to purchase for $42,919 at lease end currently adds up an attractive lease-to-own deal that costs $2249 less than an all-cash transaction at a 9% tax rate.

Curiously, we haven’t seen many dealer-advertised discounts or improved lease offers on the Q8 e-tron since late summer despite a decent amount of available inventory, but car shopping websites like Cars.com and TrueCar seem to indicate that dealer discounts of $4000 or more are out there in some areas. Check for Audi Q8 e-tron discounts in your area.

… and the rest

The rest of the sub-$80K EV lease offers we evaluated for the lease-to-own scenario worked out to be more expensive than an all-cash transaction. However, most resulted in costing significantly less than financing, assuming a 72-month loan at 6% APR, or if available, at the lowest manufacturer promo rate. So savvy consumers that prefer to put cash to to work elsewhere rather than tie it all up in an expensive depreciating asset should seriously consider leasing over financing if one of these 2023 electrics are in the crosshairs: Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4MATIC SUV ($8687 lease-to-own savings over financing), BMW i4 eDrive35 ($5,373 savings), Audi Q4 e-tron 40 Premium Plus ($5307 savings), Kia EV6 Wind AWD ($4611 savings), Nissan Ariya Engage FWD ($3544 savings), Hyundai Ioniq 6 SEL RWD ($3025 savings), Volvo XC40 Recharge Core ($2600 savings), Kia Niro EV Wind ($935 savings).

Interested in the Hyundai Ioniq 5? If you want to own it, buy it. We crunched the numbers on the on the 36-month Ioniq 5 SEL RWD lease, and with a lease-to-own cost of $54,801, it would take $3465 more to possess after three years compared to taking out a 72-month loan at 6% with $5647 down. The Ioniq 5 lease suffers from a high money factor that translates to 7.7% APR, a relatively high 61% residual, and a $7500 lease incentive that is no better than the rebate on a purchase.

Want a VW ID.4? Well, those seeking ownership that qualify for the full Federal EV tax rebate should be better off buying rather than leasing. For those that don’t qualify, it’s a wash, which is roughly the same story for the Ford Mustang Mach-E. As for the Ford F-150 Lightning, just buy it if you’re playing for keeps because the lease-to-own method on a 36-month lease, particularly on a Lariat that qualifies for a $7500 retail incentive on a purchase as well as the $7500 Federal EV tax rebate, could cost over $10,000 more than financing it.

How about a Model 3 or Model Y? Both have very compelling 36-month lease terms, but only for those that want to ditch the car after three years. Sadly, there is no option to buy out a recent Tesla lease.

As always, check our Electric Vehicle Best Price Guide and Best Electric Vehicle Lease Guide for the best deals on EVs in the US.